Mayor's plan calls for replacing two South End elementary schools

New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell on Wednesday released a plan to kick-start the city's school building program, which has been stalled since 2009.

CHARIS ANDERSON

NEW BEDFORD — Mayor Jon Mitchell on Wednesday released a plan to kick-start the city's school building program, which has been stalled since 2009 as city and state officials tried to figure out what to do with the city's southern-most elementary schools.

Under Mitchell's plan, both Hannigan and Taylor elementary schools, which together serve families living on the city's peninsula, would be replaced by moving Taylor into an expanded Sea Lab building and ultimately constructing a new school for Hannigan.

"There is an urgent need for modern elementary school facilities in the South End," the plan stated.

Hannigan has been closed since 2006 when a portion of its roof collapsed, and its students have been reassigned to two different locations, including the Sea Lab building, which lacks a gymnasium, among other things.

And at 115 years old, Taylor Elementary is the city's oldest school building still in active use.

"Simply put, all elementary school students in the South End need and deserve new schools," the plan stated.

In Mitchell's plan, he proposed building a 26,142-square-foot addition to the Sea Lab building, which would give the school 13 classrooms — two for each grade in kindergarten through fifth and one for preschool — while preserving a wing of the building for Sea Lab's exclusive use.

The expansion would also allow for a dedicated gymnasium, which the school currently lacks. The new school would enroll about 300 students, according to Mitchell.

While some city councilors have expressed concerns in the past that using the Sea Lab building as a full-time elementary school would jeopardize the Sea Lab program, Mitchell said the newly released plans for the building preserve the long-term viability of Sea Lab.

According to the plan, the addition would cost about $12.5 million and would be eligible for 90 percent reimbursement from the MSBA by tapping into a pool of money left over from when the city accessed grant awards for several elementary school projects to help cover the increasing costs of the Keith Middle School project.

The MSBA has said the remaining money from that grant conversion — about $17.1 million — can only be used for projects at Sea Lab, New Bedford High School and Keith Middle school, according to Mitchell.

The expansion at Sea Lab would use about $11.25 million, according to the plan, and Mitchell proposed using the remaining grant conversion money to help fund about $6.2 million in technological and infrastructure improvements at New Bedford High.

The district must submit additional information about both the Sea Lab and the high school projects to the MSBA by Feb. 15, according to Mitchell.

Meanwhile, the MSBA has invited the district to collaborate on a feasibility study that would explore possible options for replacing Hannigan Elementary, according to Mitchell.

The feasibility study is a necessary first step in the MSBA's construction process, but the MSBA has not yet approved a building project for Hannigan, the plan stated.

The study is expected to cost about $750,000, of which the city would be eligible for reimbursement of 80 percent, said Mitchell.

The next step, said Mitchell, is for the city to submit proof that the City Council has agreed to bond for the upfront costs of the study, which it must do by the MSBA's March 29 deadline.

Mitchell said questions about size and location of the new Hannigan would likely be answered by the feasibility study, although he said there was a chance that the school's existing attendance zone could change.

"My goal remains the same that we want to avoid having extra large elementary schools, because there's a lot to be said for smaller, neighborhood learning environments," said Mitchell.

According to Mitchell, the city consulted closely with the MSBA as it developed the plan he released Wednesday, and he is confident the city will receive the necessary approvals to move forward on the plan's projects.